Cable reels generally used for winding, storage and transportation of cables or cords basically consists of a spool, on which the cable is wound. Such cable reels are particularly useful in industrial or commercial settings such as automobile repair shops, machine shops, carpentry shops, construction sites and also in the military field as a mini reel for handling of hook and line cable, detonation cord, firing cable, hose, wire, rope, communication cable and Ethernet cable.
Hand held cable reels have been used for many years in a variety of different fields. Typically, cable reels are used to store a length of cable such as wire, rope, electrical cable or tape in a safe and secure manner until such time that the cable is required. When the cable is required for use the desired amount of cable may be paid out gradually from the cable reel in an orderly manner. When the desired amount of cable has been paid out, the cable may be secured to the cable reel to prevent further payout of cable from the reel.
Portable cable reel devices that are known in the prior art pose limitations such as difficulty in winding or unwinding the cable in a quick and efficient manner. In addition, another disadvantage of this type of reel is that the handles protrude from the end flanges by a significant distance thereby hindering compact storage of the device and also increases the production cost. Furthermore, the design of rotating knob or winding knobs on cable reels adds difficulty in winding of cable.
In addition, the selection of reel material contributing to its size and weight leads to difficulty in handling and transport of the cable reel. Cables are typically wound around a spool frame and secured at one or both ends. In order to maintain the cable on the spool, flanges are provided at both the ends which extends radially outwards to prevent the cable being removed from the spool. Conventional reels include a shaft positioned at the center of the reel to receive an axle that allows rotation of reel over the shaft to facilitate winding or unwinding of cable.
US patent publication 20100044490 A1 discloses a hand held cable reel comprising a central cable receiving core flanked by disc flanges with a handle for rotational winding. U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,433 B1 shows a manual wound cord storage unit comprising a reel frame with a central hub and a spool with a winding knob. U.S. Pat. No. 7,874,411 B2 discloses a reel for maintaining fiber optic cable assemblies. U.S. Pat. No. 8,074,916 B2 shows a cable reel assembly comprising multiple carrying handles on side flanges of the spool.
Cable reels are used in various industries for winding, storage and transport of cable, wire, rope, cord, hose, and the like. Several limitations exist in cable reels known in the art including weight, problems associated with stacking, bulkiness which adds difficulty in handling and manufacturing. Therefore there exists a need for a small hand held cable reel assembly that is lower in weight, easily stackable, less bulky and easy to handle and manufacture.